India ban puts FDA in hot seat

Ranking official of the Food and Drug Administration admitted receiving grants from foreign anti-tobacco groups The Union and Bloomberg Initiative

The government was asked yesterday to follow the lead of India in cracking down on non-government organizations (NGO) such as Bloomberg Philanthropies that provide grants to lobby for local policies.

India banned more than 14,500 non-government organizations over the past five years, including four groups that received foreign grants from Bloomberg Philanthropies of US financial billionaire Michael Bloomberg which are reportedly involved in tobacco control lobbying.

During a public consultation on the draft guidelines for heated tobacco products (HTP) last 8 October 2020, a ranking official of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) admitted receiving grants from foreign anti-tobacco groups The Union and Bloomberg Initiative who are promoting a prohibitive approach on tobacco control policies.

It raised questions on foreign interference with local policies and possible conflict of interest on the part of the FDA as they were tasked to craft regulations for e-cigarettes and HTP.

NGO vs NGO

The call for a crackdown on NGO serving as conduits for foreign vested interest groups was made by the Nicotine Consumers Union of the Philippines Inc. (NCUP), Philippine E-Cigarette Industry Association and Vaper AKO, consumer and advocacy groups who are promoting tobacco harm reduction and a science-based approach to legislation.

India canceled the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) licenses of thousands of NGO for reportedly acting against India’s national interests, misreporting donations, and lobbying against an established economic activity which raises multiple economic and social concerns.

The FCRA aims “to regulate the acceptance and utilization of foreign contribution or foreign hospitality by certain individuals or associations or companies and to prohibit acceptance and utilization of foreign contribution or foreign hospitality for any activities detrimental to the national interest and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto.”